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Everyone knows that New York state lawmakers rarely miss an opportunity to feather their own nests. But even during a rough recession?

Uh, yup.

As of Oct. 1, they began getting higher travel and lodging stipends, or per-diems — even though many hotels and restaurants have lowered their prices.

For staying in Albany, the cash allowances are now $171 a day, up from $160 — a 7 percent hike — even if actual costs fall. Lawmakers get to keep what they don’t spend. Nice deal, huh?

The trick dates to 1999, when legislators tied their per-diems to those of federal workers. They no doubt figured such a move would shield them from looking greedy, while ensuring that their allowances remained, uh . . . healthy.

But today, New Yorkers are suffering through a painful economic downturn. Albany faces a $3 billion deficit.

Lawmakers could go back and rewrite the law — slashing the stipend or de-linking it from federal standards.

And they’ll probably do just that, too — right after world peace breaks out.